Traversing carriage for metal-burning cutting machines



March 25, 1969 G. RODER 3,434,706

TRAVERSING CARRIAGE FOR METAL-BURNING CUTTING MACHINES Filed Sept. 22, 1966 Sheet of s March 25, '1969 G. RODER 3,434, 706

TRAVERSING CARRIAGE FOR METAL-BURNING CUTTING MACHINES Filed Sept. 22. 1966 Sheet 2 of s Fig. 2

G. RODER 3,434,706 TRAVERSING CARRIAGE FOR METAL-BURNING CUTTING MACHINES March 25, 1969 Sheet Filed Sept. 22, 1966 Fig. 3

A r N m w K 2 0 5/4 E \l 5 .0 1

m 5 H a w m United States Patent M Int. 01. B231: 57/02 US. Cl. 266-23 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A traversing carriage for a metal-burning cutting machine, which is mounted on the carriage, includes a liquidsealed rail structure upon which the carriage is traversed for trapping any material against reaching the traversed mounting.

The present invention concerns the mounting of a traversing carriage for metal-burning cutting machines such as oxyacetylene cutters.

In use metal-burning cutters produce burnt metal ashes, metal dust and other waste. If precautions are not taken this waste works its way into the traverse mountings for traversing carriages, and in some circumstances can even be blown directly from the cutting area into such mountings. Guards are helpful in protecting the mountings, but the entire mounting area is generally so fouled and covered with dust that simple dust guards are not sufiicient.

The function of the cutter is impaired by excessive fouling of the traverse mountings. For example, when waste lies on the parts which roll or glide upon one another while the carriage is in motion, then that motion becomes uneven or jerky. As a result burners on the carriage are not properly maintained on the exact indicated course. This is especially serious when the traverse mounting is set at floor level, where there is a particularly heavy accumulation of waste.

Among the objects of the present invention is the provision of a traversing carriage for a metal-burning cutting machine in which the foregoing problem is minimized or entirely avoided.

The foregoing objects are attained by mounting the carria-ge on liquid-sealed rail structure that causes the sealing liquid to trap any material against reaching the traverse mounting.

By way of example, the liquid-sealed rail structure can include tank means that extends along the rail structure and contains the sealing liquid, the tank means having an open top and cover structure that spans a portion of the open top, the cover structure including opposed flange portions that dip down into the liquid in the tank toseal the space between the flange portions, the traverse mounting being located in that space and being connected to the carriage body by structure that extends down into the liquid below the flanges and emerges from the tank top through the portion not covered by the tank cover.

A practical development of the invention would also have the tank cover easily removable for simpler servicing.

The traverse carriage of a metal-burning cutting machine is as a rule constructed with two parallel tracks, and the liquid-sealed construction is preferably applied to both tracks. It is helpful to have the tanks for the separate tracks on the same level and to connect them by a communicating conduit and link them to a common inflow so that it is only necessary to supervise the liquid level in one place, and the change of liquid necessary from time to time can be accomplished through the common inflow for both systems. The tanks are best anchored in the ice ground, for example cemented in. It is advisable to have the two tracks adjusted to run exactly horizontal, as by providing them with elevation-adjusted elements at several spaced locations.

The invention will now be explained in more detail in conjunction with the attached drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front view, somewhat schematic, of an oxyacetylene cutting machine;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of taken along lines IIII;

FIG. 3 is a detail 'view similar to that of FIG. 1 with parts broken away and in section to better show its construction;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view with parts broken away, of a gall-bearing guide section of the maching of FIG. 1; an

FIG. 5 is a view similar to that of FIG. 3 showing a modified carriage mounting pursuant to the present invention.

In FIGS. 1 through 4 the number 1 refers to a beam constructed in the form of an elongated panel, and 2 refers to the entire carriage that includes the panel and is carried by two supports 3 and 4. The two supports 3 and 4 are movably mounted with respect to horizontally extending guide rail assemblies 5 and 6. Panel 1 also carries a rail 7 that extends perpendicularly to the guide rail assemblies 5 and 6 and movably holds four cutters 8, 9, 10 and 11. When in use the cutters are directed towards a work piece such as 17 held on work bench 16.. The movement of the cutters is controlled by orthogonal coordination between travel on the guide rail assemblies 5 and 6 on the one hand, and rail 7 on the other.

A switchboard 20 may be provided for the operation of electrical and other appliances which in part are inside the panel 1, but are not shown in the drawing. 21 designates gas inflow pipes and 22 designates supports for the gas ilnflow pipes and the like, which are attached to the pane Two parallel arranged elongated tanks 30 and 48 are provided for the respective guide rail assemblies 5 and 6. The tanks 30 and 48 are cemented into the floor and hermetically sealed at each of their longitudinal ends. One sealed end is shown at 120* in the rear of FIG. 3. Along the length of guide rail assembly 5 is a rail 38 which stretches the whole length of tank 30 and is held in place by means of setscrews 113 and 114. These setscrews serve to keep the rail 38 level and to this end are screwed to a plate 32 which is welded to the tank 30, and are locked by nuts and 116 respectively. Other setscrews of this type can be distributed over the entire length of the rail.

Rail 38 has an essentially double T profile and at each side of its head 39 has parallel tracks 40 and 41 respectively. Ballbearing support segments 42 are movably fitted into these tracks 40, 41, and are secured to the support pedestals 3, 4. Only the ball-bearing segment 42 for track 41 is illustrated in FIG. 3.

FIG. 4 gives a better view of a ball-bearing segment 42 and of its mounting arrangement. Segment 42 has an inverted U-shaped shroud 46 between the arms of which is fixed a guide sheet 45 provided with a recessed endless ball track 44 for a row of even-sized ball bearings 43. The shroud 46 is secured to the sheet 45 which is so spaced from the arms of the shroud that these arms keep the balls in place in the track 44. The shroud is also secured to its carriage pedestal as explained below.

Guide sheet 45 projects down beyond the lower end of the shroud 46, and is received in a groove 47 in its track 41. The bearings of the ball-bearing segment engage tapered bearing faces on each side of groove 47 over which they roll when the carriage is moved on its track assemblies. Shroud 42 further protects the bearings from the maching of FIG. 1

any foreign solid particles that do manage to find their way into the bearing zone.

The ball-bearing segments 42 are fixed to the short arms of J-shaped supports 50, 52, which in turn are fixed by their longer arms to a plate 51 at the bottom of each carriage pedestal. The supports are positioned with their shorter arms facing each other, and most of the space between their longer arms is spanned by a tank cover 54 which is secured to the rail head 39 between the bearing tracks 40, 41. Cover 54 has downturn flanges along each longitudinal edge and these edges dip down into the liquid in each tank between the arms of each J-shaped support. Cover 54 also extends from one end of the tank 30 to the other and is hermetically sealed at each end as by a gasketed joint or by welding. The sides of the rail tanks extend up higher than the tracks 40 and 41 so that the tanks can be filled with a liquid to such an extent that the lower edges of the flanges of the cover 54 dip into the surface of the liquid, as explained above. In this way a sealed space 55 is created by the surface of the liquid, the cover 54, the sides and the two ends of the tank 30. The tracks 40 and 41 and the ball-bearing segments are in this sealed space and thus protected against the outside atmosphere as well as the penetration of dust.

Two or more ball-bearing segments 42 can be used in each track, if desired. The two tanks 30 and 48 can also be connected by a communicating conduit 117 which is attached to a common liquid supply and drainage conduit 118. The most advantageous liquid to be used is one that does not atfect the structures it engages and is not flammable. Water is a particularly desirable liquid, as for example when the rail assemblies are made of stainless steel.

Where the rail supports are such that the carriage 2 is securely held against tilting or twisting, it is suflicient to provide the carriage propulsion along the rails from only one side of the carriage. This can be effected as by a motor, not shown, which rotates a vertical shaft 60 journalled in support pedestal 3. By rotating the shaft in one direction or the other, a pinion 61 on its lower end engaged with a toothed rack fixed along rail 38 will smoothly propel the carriage.

The two support pedestals 3 and 4 only extend a short distance along the rails and in every position of the carriage the greatest part of the rail tanks and their covers 54, 119, remain exposed. These covers are accordingly easily made removable as by having them screwed in place. Service personnel can thus have ready access to the internal portions of the rail assemblies. The slits between the tank tops and their covers can be dimensioned so that they are essentially narrower than a human foot in order to minimize accidents. Turned-in lips at the tops of the tank sides are a convenient way to adjust these slits.

The liquid trap seals of the present invention can also be obtained by guide means other than the ball-bearing segments described above, although these are especially advantageous. Another type of guiding apparatus which can be used within the framework of the invention will now be described in connection with FIG. 5.

According to FIG. a tank 100 carries a track 101, the head of which, 102, has two diagonally situated rolling surfaces 103 and 104. A support 105 has J-shaped side projections 106 and 107 that dip into the tank. On the free ends of these projections are situated rollers 108 and 109. A cover 110 of inverted U-shaped cross-section has its side edges hanging over the rolling surfaces and dipping into the liquid in the tank. In this way again a sealed space 111 is created to protect the bearings against the outside atmosphere.

The sealed spaces 55 or 111 can have their upper portions connected to vents or the like that can be controlled as by shut-off valves, for the purpose of more readily permitting the tank liquid to rise above the level of the lower ends of the cover flanges. Without such vents the liquid in the tanks can be forced up to the desired level as by extending liquid-supply conduit 117 vertically upward outside of the tank to provide a hydrostatic head that develops the necessary pressure in the liquid. The level of the liquid in the head can in such an arrangement be observed to detect whether the sealed spaces remain airtight. When they begin to leak air, the level of the head will drop.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings.

What is claimed:

1. A traversing carriage in combination with a metalburning cutting machine, said machine being mounted on said carriage, said carriage being mounted for traversing on a liquid-sealed rail structure that causes the sealing liquid to trap any material against reaching the traverse mounting.

2. The combination of claim 1 in which the rail structure includes two spaced parallel liquid-sealed rails each provided with a sealing tank, both tanks being interconnected to hold sealing liquid at essentially the same level.

3. The combination of claim 1 in which the liquidsealed rail structure is at least partially embedded in a floor.

4. A traversing carriage for a metal-burning cutting machine, said carriage being mounted on traverse mounting means for traversing on liquid-sealed rail structure that causes the sealing liquid to trap any material against reaching said traverse mounting means, said rail structure including tank means that extends along the rail structure and contains the sealing liquid, the tank means having an open top and cover structure that spans a portion of the open top, the cover structure including opposed flange portions that dip down into the liquid in the tank to seal the space between the flange portions, said traverse mounting means being located in that space and being connected to the carriage body by structure that extends down into the liquid below the flanges and emerges from the tank top through the portion not covered by the tank cover.

5. The combination of claim 4 in which the rail structure includes a rail contained within the tank means and having elevation-adjusting means at spaced locations along its length.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 476,776 6/1892 Barkley 19l26 487,735 12/1892 Hayden 19126 536,357 3/1895 De Palacio 104l34 3,148,632 9/1964 Bingham -145 DRAYTON E. HOFFMAN, Primary Examiner.

RICHARD A. BERTSCH, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 104-140 

